Information About Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria

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Dear Nigerians, Women Are Not Inferior!

By Gideon Onah

A lion was born and left without care by his lion-family for whatsoever reason. Fortunately for the young cub, he was found and adopted by a sheep family and then brought up in the tradition of sheeps. Unfortunately for the lion his self-identity was that of a sheep. Thus he was scared by whatsoever scares sheeps, including lions. He indeed trembled at the presence of lions. His life and manifestations were sheepish and inferior to that of lions, he was alienated from his dignity as a lion. Until he recognized that he had a universal resemblance with the lions that chased it when he suddenly took note of the reflection that appeared on the surface of the water while he went to drink and decided to not run at the sight of the lions that chased his company he was always molested. But when he realized his identity things changed..... Such was his life.

Hangmen Also Die

By Ekimini Pius

You sit by the huge refuse dump at Watt market. Passersby stare at you in wonder, their noses scrunched up in disgust. They are wondering how you are not repelled by the pungent smell wafting up from the refuse dump. The refuse dump is at its unbearable best this evening, complete with fresh fish and meat entrails dangling from its corners, inviting flies of all races to bully themselves for a place in this banquet. You are not bothered by their piercing stares. It's time for dinner and that is all that matters. You reach inside your tattered handbag and produce a rusty, empty tomato tin. You fill it with water from the gutter and then you bend over the refuse dump to reveal a pair of ashen buttocks. You wrap a few decaying entrails around your finger and you drag them out from the dense congregation of stench. Then you cut them to size with your razor-sharp teeth and spit them into the pot to simmer. You don't understand why these people are staring pointedly at you. If only they knew of your small victories and all you have achieved in the past six months, they'd just go their way and let you eat your meat sauce in peace.​

Identity And The Danger Of A Single Story

By Nani Ajah

It was a typical Wednesday afternoon in Calabar, Nigeria. The weather was scorching hot and the power was out so being cooped up inside my JSS3 (9th grade) classroom was not helping. A few of my friends and I started a game of tag, chasing one another around the room and I climbed some desks to avoid getting tagged. After the game, a male classmate came to me and asked, “Why were you climbing over the desks? Don’t you know that you are a girl?” I simply gave him a puzzled look and walked away. As the exuberant child that I was, I tried to climb a small tree but fell off. My mother, after cleaning my bruises, scolded me saying, “I don’t want you climbing trees and getting bruised, don’t you know that you are a girl and that a woman should not have too many scars?” I knew I was a girl, I had no doubt about it, but it had never occurred to me that being a girl meant not climbing desks or not climbing trees or avoiding things as random as scars, especially at the expense of fun.​

Slut Shaming, Gender Perceptions

By Amaka Madu

I woke up to upsetting news that went viral on Facebook and other social media platforms. A married woman put up pictures of her husband's alleged mistress (Gift Erabhor) and issued a warning to her to let him go. She rained curses on her and what not. What was even more upsetting was the comments that followed this post on pages and private accounts of most Facebook users. Without investigation or proper evidence, Gift Erabhor became a target for social media bullies. "Whore", 'Husband Snatcher", "Cheap Slut", "God will punish you for stealing another woman's husband " were few of the comments I astonishingly read. I am going to be ruthlessly sincere on this post because I have never being more concerned about our society.

​Slut Shaming, Gender Perceptions (2)

By Amaka Madu

A while ago, I wrote an article condemning RAPE. Some people took it with mediocrity. I tagged some individual and put up names in comment sections. People didn't seem too affected and didn't repost. I spoke up after I heard a horrible rape story.

Then a week ago or so, A friend on Facebook cried out bitterly about his 13 year old cousin being raped. More rape cases were recorded and reported. My heart broke to pieces.